Dry eyes from cold air

Yes, cold air can make your eyes feel dry. Cold outdoor air holds little water vapor, and wind or your own speed on a run or bike moves it across the eye, pulling moisture off the tear film between blinks. Eyes may sting and water in the cold, then feel dry once you’re back inside. Shielding them from the wind and using a lubricating drop as labeled both help.

Can you get dry eyes from cold weather?

Cold weather on its own doesn’t change the eye; it changes the air the eye sits in. The colder the air, the less water vapor it can hold. So a still winter morning can feel crisp rather than harsh, while the same temperature with a stiff breeze feels raw on your face and eyes. What matters for the eye is how much moisture leaves its surface, and both dry air and moving air push that up.

The tear film is what loses the water. It has a mucus layer against the eye, a watery layer over it and a thin oily layer on top that slows evaporation. In cold wind, the whole film thins faster than a normal blink rate can replace it.

Why eyes water in the cold and still feel dry

Teary eyes on a cold walk seem like the opposite of dryness. Often they’re a reaction to it: the surface of the eye is irritated by the wind, and a rush of watery tears follows. Those tears run down your cheek instead of forming an even film, and when you step indoors the eye can feel gritty or tight. That pattern is a hint that the outdoor air, not a lack of tears, is the problem.

Are dry eyes worse in cold weather?

For many people they are, because winter stacks two things. Outside, there’s cold, dry, often windy air. Inside, there’s heating. This guide is about the outdoor half; winter heating and dry eyes covers furnaces and radiators.

The jump between the two can be what you notice most. Coming in from a cold commute to a warm office gives the eye no break, and the stinging from the wind can turn into a dry, tired feeling by mid-morning.

Wind chill and your eyes

Wind chill describes how cold it feels on exposed skin when wind is added to low temperature. Your eyes are exposed too, and they have no layer of skin to protect them, only the tear film and your eyelids. You can’t do much about the wind itself, but you can control how much of it reaches your eyes.

• Wraparound sunglasses or clear wraparound glasses block wind from the sides as well as the front.
• A hat with a brim, or a hood pulled forward, cuts the wind on your brow.
• Standing with your back to the wind when you can, at a bus stop or a crosswalk, gives your eyes a rest.
• A scarf or neck gaiter pulled too high can push your warm breath up into your glasses; keep it below the nose if it fogs your lenses.

Running, cycling and shoveling in the cold

Speed makes your own wind. A run at a steady pace or a bike commute on a cold morning moves air across your eyes even on a calm day, and the harder you work, the less you tend to blink. Sport glasses with a wrap help a lot. So does turning your head away from the wind on the return leg, or planning a route with some shelter. Skiing adds altitude and speed on top; ski trips, cold wind and dry eyes covers the slopes.

Shoveling snow is slower but long: you’re bent over, facing into whatever breeze there is, and blowing snow lands in your face. Taking breaks inside every so often gives the eye time to recover.

Using drops around time outdoors

Quell’s Uses section reads: For use as a protectant against further irritation or to relieve dryness of the eye. The directions are Apply 1 drop 3 times per day in each eye. The full panel is on the Drug Facts page. On a cold day, a drop applied indoors once you’re back from the cold is easier to manage than one applied on a windy sidewalk with gloves on. If you’re heading out for a long stretch, one drop before you go and another when you return can be two of the three.

Take gloves off before you open the bottle, and follow the label: Do not touch tip of bottle to any surface to avoid contamination. Quell is designed to reinforce the tear film’s oil layer to help reduce moisture loss, which is the layer cold, moving air works against.

Keeping the bottle from freezing

A bottle in an outer coat pocket, a car door or a bike bag on a freezing day can fall far below the label’s range of Store between 15° to 30°C (59° to 86°F). Carry it in an inside pocket close to your body, or leave it at home or at your desk. If a bottle gets very cold, let it come back to room temperature and look at it before use. If it looks different from usual, don’t use it. The label’s Do not use line reads: If this product changes color.

When cold isn’t the explanation

If your eyes stay uncomfortable well after you’re warm and indoors, cold air may not be the reason. The label’s stop-use line applies: Stop use and ask a doctor if you feel eye pain or changes in your vision, if irritation or redness continues, or if the condition worsens or persists for 72 hours. The self-check can help you describe what you’re noticing to an eye doctor. It is not a diagnosis.